Marketing Activities

The HKTA's Internet home page Wonder Net <http://www.hkta.org>
contributes considerably to the emphasis on direct-to-consumer
marketing, with the website drawing more than 5 million hits a month.
Wonder Net has won many awards from professional organisations
around the world. It was expanded in 1997 to include special sections on
the reunification, an editorial desk for the media, conference and business
information, special pages for the 100 Days of Wonders promotion and the
Spotlight Hong Kong - Towards the Millennium programme. The website
has links to other tourism-related organisations, including the Hong Kong
Hotels Association and the Hong Kong Association of Travel Agents.
Country-specific home pages have been set up in the USA, Australia,
Japan, Taiwan, France and Germany.

In order to attract more visitors to Hong Kong, the HKTA markets
existing events and encourages overseas tour operators to package special
event trips to Hong Kong. In such cases, the ability to book for events
well in advance, and from overseas, is crucial. In 1997, the HKTA
established special advance booking systems with organisers of such
events as the Jade Solid Gold Best Awards Presentation, the Health and
Fortune Expo '97, the Hong Kong Arts Festival, the Salem Open '97
Tennis Championship, and celebration activities for the reunification.
More than 9 600 tickets were sold through these arrangements.

Over the year, the HKTA continued to participate in the Pearl River Delta
Marketing Organisation, formed between the HKTA, the Macau
Government Tourist Office and the Guangdong Provincial Tourism
Bureau, with support from the China National Tourism Administration and
trade organisations. During the year, the organisation was represented at
10 major travel trade shows overseas and organised nine familiarisation
trips to the Pearl River Delta for some 138 travel trade personnel and 32
members of the international media. Some 10 000 brochures and leaflets
about the region's attractions were distributed at these shows, as well as
through the international travel trade.

A major initiative was the establishment in March 1997 of the HKTA's
office in Beijing. It serves as a liaison point with the Mainland travel trade
and media, as well as a general enquiry office for members of the public.
Its opening was timed to coincide with the large-scale Hong Kong Expo,
jointly organised by the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, the HKTA
and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. More than 100 000
visitors attended the three-day Expo, which aimed to inform the public
about Hong Kong.

In pursuit of raising world-wide awareness of Hong Kong as a cruising
hub of Asia, the HKTA attended major cruise trade shows in the USA and
Australia - two major markets for cruise visitors.

Other major overseas travel trade events attended by the HKTA along with
industry partners from Hong Kong, included the World Travel Market in
London, the International Tourism Exchange in Berlin, the Asia Travel
Mart in Singapore, the Pacific Travel Association Travel Mart and
Conference in Beijing, the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai, the Japan
Congress of International Travel and Travel Trade Show in Tokyo, Borsa
Internationale del Turismo in Milan, and Feria International del Turismo in
Madrid.

Regular joint promotions with travel industry partners such as hotels and
airlines were also conducted overseas. These included a South-East Asia
Roadshow to Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Manila;
travel trade missions to Taiwan, Korea and India; and a City Blitz of 36
cities in Japan. Immediately after the reunification, the HKTA also took
grass-roots delegations - including representatives from, among others,
the Immigration Department and the Police Force - to Japan, Taiwan and
South-East Asia. These were organised to correct common
misconceptions about Hong Kong after reunification with China.

During the reunification period, the HKTA worked closely with the
government's Information Services Department to help ensure the
international news media representatives in Hong Kong to cover the event
received all necessary information. The association also operated a
24-hour, Media Services Booth at the Press and Broadcast Centre in the
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, which received more than
1 720 enquiries. The association assisted in the organisation of some 28
interviews with leading tourism industry figures.

As part of efforts to combat the mid-year downturn in tourism, and to
maintain international awareness of Hong Kong as a tourist destination, the
HKTA organised a series of large-scale familiarisation programmes. More
than 3 000 travel trade and media guests visited Hong Kong between July
and December. In July, the HKTA hosted 140 travel agents and 99 media
guests from Japan, while in August a group of 373 UK tour operators,
media representatives and VIPs - as well as some 100 agents from the
USA - visited Hong Kong. September saw a group of 50 travel agents and
10 members of the media from Korea, while more than 2 000 travel
agents and media guests from 22 countries came in December. All these
large-scale programmes featured a comprehensive presentation about
Hong Kong, including product updates, messages from the HKSAR
government, an update on Hong Kong hotels, an introduction to the new
airport at Chek Lap Kok, and sightseeing programmes.

The association joined forces with celebrities from Hong Kong and around
the world (including cellist Yo Yo Ma, TV personality Agnes Chan and
chef Wolfgang Puck) to make endorsement videos spreading the message
that Hong Kong was as dynamic and vibrant as ever and encouraging
people to come and see for themselves. A winter promotion began in
December to attract more visitors during this 'low' season. Special
discounts in retail outlets and bonuses for visitors were part of the
promotion.

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